Return To Mystic Falls
by Aprilrose1990
Summary: <html><head></head>It's been years since Heather left Mystic Falls. She's moved on with her life and hasn't thought about it, until she gets a phone call that changes her life, causing her to return to Mystic Falls. I don't own vampire Diaries or any of their characters, I only own the characters you don't know and the plot. Rating K, but will change in later chapter. Summary sucks, but please R&R</html>
1. Chapter 1

Heather and Crystal were sitting on the picnic table in Chesterfield Park watching Crystal's son, David, play on the playground. They were laughing, joking and reminiscing about the good ol days when they were in school, when Heather's phone rang. She pulled it out and looked down at the screen, frowning. Crystal raised an eyebrow when she saw this. "Who is it?" She asked. Heather shrugged, still looking at the phone.

"I don't know. Some weird number has been callin me for the last couple days." She said as the phone started ringing again.

"Want me to answer it?" Crystal asked with a sly smile. Heather looked at her and smiled, then handed the phone. "This is Heather's phone, Crystal speaking. How may I help you?" Heather laughed and covered her mouth with her hand, watching Crystal's face change. She put her hand over the phone and looked at Heather. "He says his name…" She paused, trying to remember. "Damon Salvatore?" She finished in the form of a question and watched as Heather paled, her mouth dropping open and her eyes widening in surprise. She stared at Crystal for a minute before holding out her hand. She let out a slow breath and raised the phone to her ear.

"Well, well. Damon Salvatore. What a surprise." She said, her voice changing instantly. Crystal's eyebrows raised.

"_Well it shouldn't be. I've been trying to get a hold of you for a couple days now." _ He responded. Heather gave the phone a disgusted look and sighed.

"Well, excuse me for not keeping your number." She said. He groaned and made a wounded sound.

"_Ouch! That hurt!" _He said, amusement in his voice. Heather rolled her eyes.

"What do you want, Damon?" She asked, her voice cold and hard.

"_Elena's dead." _He said, skipping the jokes. Heather's grip on her phone tightened, a sick feeling forming in the pit of her stomach as her blood ran cold.

"What do you mean Elen's dead, Damon?" She asked, panic in her voice. Crystal's eyebrows shot up as Heather slid off the table and began to pace. "How?"

"_Kol." _ He said. That one word was enough to make Heater's blood turn from ice to fire.

"Kol. As in, The Original Kol?" She asked. She could imagine Damon rolling his eyes and shaking his on the other end.

"_Yeah. That one." _Damon said sarcastically. _"You should come back for the funeral."_ He added.

"Damon, I cant go back to Mystic Falls." She said. Crystal tilted her head as she watched Heather pace. Heather glanced at her and waved away her look of concern.

"_Jeremy needs you right now, Heather." _Damon said. Heater's eyes filled with tears as she fought to keep her voice steady, her grip on her phone tightening even more.

"Don't you dare use Jeremy Gilbert as an anchor to me back there, Damon! I would love more than anything to see Jeremy again, it's been to long, and I would love to see the gang again and I'm sorry Elena's gone. I'm sending my prayers and condolences your way, but I cant go back to Mystic Falls, Damon." She said through clenched teeth, her face flushed.

"_Why not?!" _Damon asked, his voice rising. Heather bit down on her lower lip, squeezed her eyes shut and raised a hand to her forehead.

"Beacause you're there." She said and as the dam broke, she hung up the phone before he could say anything else. She let out a sob, tears running down her face. Crystal jumped off the picnic table and was at her side in seconds. Heather dropped her phone and threw her arms around her best friend, crying until her chest hurt. She sank to the ground and Crystal sat down next to her, rubbing her back as her sobs subsided.

"What's going on, honey?" She asked in a soft voice. Heather took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she looked at the ground.

"You remember when I was soul searchin and took that road trip and ended up in Mystic Falls, Virginia?" She paused long enough for Crystal to nod. "Well, I met some people there and made some friends. Elens, one of those friends, died. Damon was a frenemy, that's who called. Me and Damon don't exactly see eye to eye. He said Elena's brother, Jeremy, is having a hard time coping and me and Jeremy, well we kinda had a thing while I was there. Damon says Jeremy needs me, since Bonnie, one of my other friends and Jeremy's other on again off again girlfriend, died and now his sister. I would love to go see Jeremy again, but I cant go as long as Damon's still in town." She aid, her voice still sad and pathetic, but growing colder and stronger the more she spoke.

"So don't go back for Damon. If Jeremy needs you, then go. I'll go with you. I'm curious to see this town and meet these people you never talked about." Crystal told her. Heather chuckled and shook her head.

"I cant ask you to go back with me, Crystal. There's a reason I don't talk about Mystic Falls. And what about David? You sure as hell _are not _takin David to Mystic Falls." Heather said as an after thought. Crystal flicked her wrist as if it was no big deal.

"Josh is home this week. I'll leave him with his father. Does this mean we're going?" Crystal asked hopefully. Heather shook her head and stood up.

"No, Crystal. We are not going to Mystic Falls. It's not gonna happen!"


	2. Reunion

Four hours later, Heather was sitting in the front seat of Crystal's car, headed for Virginia. She sat with her arms crossed, her lip poking out as she stared out the window. Crystal glanced at her and sighed. "I'm sorry sis, but I couldn't let you stay in Missouri when you're clearly needed in Mystic Falls." She said. Heather remained silent, then closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the head rest.

"I'm not mad, Crystal. I'm scared. A lot. By bringing you to Mystic Falls, I'm putting your life in danger." She said, her eyes still closed. She heard Crystal shift uneasily. "Crystal, Mystic Falls is a whole new world. A world you never imagined. Vampires, witches, hybrids. All your worst dreams come true when you cross the city limit." She heard Crystal's sharp intake of breath and opened one eye and looked at her.

"Heather-Vampires? Witches? What the hell is a hybrid?" She asked, not sounding scared or unsure, which surprised Heather a lot.

"A hybrid is a vampire/werewolf mix and they're crazy dangerous. Let me give you a run through. Damon Salvatore equals vampire. His brother, Stefan, vampire. Elena Gilbert was vampire. Caroline Forbes, also a vampire. Bonnie Bennett was a witch. Tyler Lockwood, vampire. Jeremy is a vampire _hunter_. And Matt Donovan? The human of the bunch. So yeah, a whole new world." She said. She watched the wheels in her friends head start to turn.

"That's why you didn't want me to bring David." She said simply. Heather nodded, not wanting to say anything else about Damon or Mystic Falls, but she knew she had to.

"Elena was an amazing person who carried way more than any person should have had to. Jeremy is sweet and protective and always looks out for everyone. Matt's a complete doll. And an absolute sweetheart, you'll love him. caroline's upbeat and kinda yappy and a total control freak who wil not hesitate to tell you what she thinks but at the end of the day, she'll always have your back. Tyler's kinda a jerk, but he's ok, I guess. He's Caroline's boyfriend. Stefan is a pretty sweet guy. Reader, brooder, journaler. Damon likes to tease him bout his 'hero hair'. Then there's Damon. Damon's tall, dark, handsome and a complete jerk. But he's come a long way since I met him that summer a couple years back." She sighed and looked out the window as memories of Mystic Falls came rushing back to her.

Two hours later, they were pulling into the Salvatore's packed driveway. Heather, on the other hand, dreaded the reunion as they stepped onto the porch. She raised her hand to knock, but the door swung open and she was staring into the eyes of Stefan Salvatore. His eyes filled with shock as his brown eyes took her in. "Hey." He said in a surprised voice. Heather smiled as she watched his eyes go to Crystal.

"Stefan Salvatore, this is my best friend, Crystal Campbell." Crystal flashed him a shy smile and waved. Stefan nodded back and silently stepped aside so they could go in. Heather hesitated, then walked through the door, Crystal on her heels. They were instantly in the middle of a crowd of people in the packed foyer. "Stay close." She called to Crystal and started wading her way through the people until she was standing at the top of the stairs leading into the living room. Caroline and Tyler were off to the side by the windows talking and standing in front of the fireplace was Matt Donovan and his best friend, Jeremy Gilbert. Caroline saw her and waved.

"Oh my God! Heather!" She yelled. Tyler looked her way and Matt turned around. But she wasn't paying any attention to them. Her eyes were glued to Jeremy she watched him slowly turn around. She was vaguely aware that Stefan had stepped up behind them and Caroline was making her way over, but all she could focus on was Jeremy. He hadn't changed much; dark hair, dark eyes, tall. His normally tan skin was glue pale and even from the steps of the foyer, she could tell he had been crying. His face was blotchy and his eyes were red rimmed.

She was rooted in place as they stared at each other, until he muttered her name. At the sound of her name on his lips, she abandoned Crystal at the stairs and ran across the room, launching herself into his embrace. His arms closed around her she started to cry. "Jeremy, I'm so sorry. I missed you so much." She said between sobs as they clung to each other. She buried her face in his shoulder as her fingers tangled in his hair. He held her close, his arm around her waist and his other hand on the back of her head.

"I missed you so much, Heather. I wanted to call you so many times." He mumbled into her hair. She heard sniffles and opened her tear filled eyes to see Caroline standing a foot away. She gave her a teary smile and pulled back to look up at Jeremy. Their eyes met and she couldn't help herself. She stood up on her tip toes and kissed him, sending off fireworks in her head. He kissed her back with urgency as they clung to each other.

"Well, isn't this a quaint little reunion?" A voice said, causing Heather to freeze. She pulled away from Jeremy and looked over his shoulder into the fire before turning around and facing the new voice.


	3. Damon

"Crystal, come here." Heather said and watched as Crystal hurried over to her.

"As I live and breathe, if it ain't little miss Heather. The girl who swore she wouldn't come back to Mystic Falls." Damon Salvatore sneered and he leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I came back for Jeremy." She snapped. Then a second later added, "And the gang." Damon raised an eyebrow and smirked as he started forward. Heather, having seen that look before, moved closer to Crystal. Sensing her mood, Caroline did the same.

"Who is this?" He asked, looking Crystal in the eye. Heather narrowed her eyes as Caroline grabbed Crystal's wrist and pulled her over behind Heather.

"Damon, stop it." Heather snapped and raised a hand to slap him, but he caught it and turned his ice blue eyes on her. She glared at him, not backing down from the half murderous look in his eyes. He dropped her hand she stepped back. "If you must know, this is my best friend Crystal Campbell, happily divorced." She added, flashing Matt a knowing glance.

"I thought _I_ was your best friend." Caroline put in, breaking the tension. Heather smiled and looked at her.

"Crystal's my Missouri best friend." She said, then turned and, with a dramatic flourish added, "Caroline Forbes, this is Crystal Campbell. Virginia best friend, meet Missouri best friend." Crystal and Caroline laughed before Caroline turned serious again.

"Here. Take this." She said, producing a bracelet from her purse. "It's made from vervain and it will keep you from being compelled." She cast a glare at Damon who held his hands up in mock surrender.

"Well, one thing hasn't changed. You still have no sense of humor." He told Heather. She turned to look at him and rolled her eyes.

"I still have no sense of Damon humor." She replied. The group laughed and Damon flashed her a fake smile.

"We didn't think you were gonna come back." Matt said suddenly. Heather looked at him and gave him a sad smile.

"I wasn't going to. But Crystal talked me into it. Besides, Jeremy needed me. How could I not?" She put her arm around Jeremy's waist and leaned against him as he put his arm around her shoulders.

"So, what do you want, Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome?" Tyler asked sarcastically. Damon flashed him a smile.

"Thanks, but I'm not that tall." He answered. Heather rolled her eyes.

"Or handsome." She responded.

"But definitely dark." Caroline added and her and Crystal broke into giggles. Heather smiled at them, glad they were getting along.

"As funny as you all seem to think you are, I think it's time we get mourners out of here." Damon said. Heather curled her lip in disgust.

"Damon, Elena's been dead two days. They're grieving." Matt said, disgust dripping from his voice. Damon blinked twice, then shrugged.

"Let them grieve at home. We have more important matters to attend to." He said. Heather found herself rolling her eyes again.

"Oohh, Damon had his 'Savior Of The Universe' voice going on." She said, crossing her arms. "Let me guess. We need to be assembled in class so we can talk about the big 'Kol Revenge' plan." Sarcasm dripped from her voice a Crystal and Caroline giggled again, but turned serious when Damon narrowed his eyes. Caroline's grip tightened on Crystal's wrist and Jeremy moved forward a couple steps, as Damon moved forward too. Jeremy put himself between Heather and Damon and Heather sighed.

"Jeremy-" Heather started, but they weren't listening to her.

"Listen to me, Little Gilbert. Get these people home and we'll regroup in the living room. Now go." Jeremy was giving him his narrow-eyed hunters look and Damon was staring right back.

"Damon, stop mentally killing people. Jeremy, might as well do what he says. We can't avoid the revenge plot forever." Stefan put in, always the voice of reason. Damon and Jeremy kept glaring at each other, so Heather sighed and squeezed in between the boys, putting her hands on Jeremy's chest.

"Jeremy, Stefan's right. We may as well do it now." She said in a soft, soothing voice. Then she turned to Damon and raised her voice. "You, get out of his face. He's just not afraid of you and neither am I for that matter. Matt, you and Tyler help Jeremy get everyone out of here. Stefan, please do something with your brother. Stick him in the dungeon for all I care." She paused and turned to Crystal and Caroline. "You two-"

"I'll show her around." Caroline said and, before Heather or Crystal could respond, whooshed Crystal off in what had been come to known as 'Hurricane Caroline'. Everyone broke up to do what they were assigned, leaving Heather and Damon facing eachother.

"I wish you never would have come back." He told her in a dark, husky voice. Heather foxed him with a smirk that rivaled his own.

"Funny, considering you're the one that told me I needed to." She responded with her eyebrow raised.

"And I hate myself for it. That," He said, closing the distance between them, "is because I forgot how obnoxious you are." She smirked at him, leaning in so her lips were almost touching his ear.

"Somethings never change, do they Damon?" She whispered. She felt him shiver as her hot breath hit his ear. She stepped back as Jeremy appeared on the steps, eying Damon suspiciously. She flashed him a bright, reassuring smile and bounded over to meet him. "Come on." She said taking his hand and in an over sarcastic, Caroline type voice added, "Let's go get the class from hell over with." She could feel Damon's glare as she led Jeremy into the other room, but she didn't care. She was back and she was with Jeremy. And that was all that mattered.


	4. Class

Heather dropped onto the over occupied couch, squeezing in between Jeremy and Caroline, who made a few mock protests. She put her elbows on her knees and rested her head in her hands, looking bored. Crystal sat on the other side of Caroline, her eyes wide with awe as she watched Damon pace.

"Ok, class. The lesson today is this: Lure Kol back to Mystic Falls. Then kill him. Any questions?" Damon asked in his school teacher voice. Everyone was silent as they exchanged looks. Heather put on her neutral face and raised her hand, causing Damon to groan. "I should have known. What, Heather?"

"With all due respect, _professor_, how are you gonna come up with a white ash stake? And have you forgotten that if you kill the wrong original, you could die?" Matt and Tyler chuckled and Jeremy grinned at the look on Damon's face.

"There's still one stake left. Don't worry your pretty little blond head. And since we all descended from Katherine, who descended from Klaus, I'm pretty sure we'll be ok." He said with a smirk. Heather sighed and blew the hair out her face.

Ok, fine. Point taken. My next question is, how the _hell_ do you plan on luring Kol back here? He killed Elena, surely he knows you're all out for revenge. He's old, not stupid." Heather argued. A heavy silence fell over the room, filling her stomach with dread. She felt the sudden tension rolling off of Jeremy.

"That's an easy one. Little Gilbert." Damon said simply, without hesitation. Heather opened her mouth, then closed it, no sound coming out. As it dawned on her what Damon had just said, she jumped to her feet. There was a collective intake of breath as her and Damon faced off.

"No, no way. You _are not_ using the boy I—" She paused in midsentence, her face flushing red hot. She hesitated a minute before finishing with, "the boy I care deeply about as vampire bait, Damon. Absolutely not!" She was practically yelling as fought to avoid Jeremy's eyes. she felt his gaze burning into her as Damon rolled his eyes.

"Why not? Him and Kol already have this hate thing going on. Kol's evil and, you know, killed his sister, and Jeremy's a vampire _hunter_. He'll be fine." He said, his eyes wide, a smirk on his face.

"Damon, no! Jeremy is not vampire bait. Yes, he's a vampire hunter," She paused and turned to look at Jeremy. "No offence or anything, Jer. I've seen you in action and you're-"

"Hot?" He asked with a smirk. Heather gave him a look and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Good. You're very good." She turned back to Damon. "But Elena was a vampire and Kol killed her without even flinching." Damon flinched at her words and she almost instantly regretted it when she looked back at Jeremy and saw the pain in his eyes.

"Exactly why we should use little Gilbert. Considering the only reason Elena's dead is because she was trying to protect Jeremy." Damon said thoughtfully, his eyes wide. A lump formed in Heather's throat as she tried to digest Damon's words. The atmosphere in the room changed in a matter of seconds and Heather found herself fighting tears.

"And where were you while all this was goin down?" She asked, automatically coming to Jeremy's defense. "Elena may have died saving Jeremy, she's his big sister, I would have done the same thing for my brother, but you were her boyfriend, Damon. Where were you while she was having it out with Kol? Holed up at the grill, throwing back shots?" Heather asked, her voice rising with every word. Damon flashed forward, his hand closing around her throat as her slammed her against the wall. Jeremy was on his feet in seconds, but Tyler was holding him back.

Damon's eyes were colder than Heather had ever seen them as his gaze burned into her. "You don't know anything about it. _You're _the one that took off when everyone needed you. _You're _the one that broke little Gilbert's heart. _You're _the one that played games while you were here. Of course, Jeremy doesn't know any of that, does he?" Damon growled, his grip on her throat tightening so she couldn't respond. She could feel herself slowly losing air as she groped inside her jeans and fumbled with the vial she pulled out. She struggled to get the cap off as the realization that he was going to kill her set in.

Mercifully, the cap finally popped off and she raised her arm in one quick, jerky movement, splashing the vervain water in Damon's face. He let out a pained cry and let her go. As she slid down the wall, Jeremy, Crystal and Caroline were at her side, Crystal's eyes filled with tears as Caroline examined her neck and Jeremy stood to face Damon, that murderous hunter look in his eyes. Damon stared back, clearly unphased as his eyes clouded over and turned stormy.

"Jeremy." Heather choked. "Don't, please. He's just not worth it." Jeremy glanced at her, that dangerous look in his eyes, but it instantly vanished when he saw the tears shining in hers. He turned his back to Damon and knelt down in front of her, his fingers tracing the purple fingerprints on her throat. His jaw muscles clenched and unclenched, the wheels in his head turning. Heather made a move to climb to her feet and she had three hands reaching out to help her, but she ignored all three and got shakily to her feet. She leaned against the wall for a minute before making her way back over to Damon. "Do what you want, Damon, you will anyway, but I swear to you, if _anything_ happens to Jeremy, I'll stake you myself." She warned, her voice low and dangerous with a hard edge to it. Her gaze burned into his, sparks flying as they stared each other down.

"Well, then. Now that that's settled, anyone want a drink?" He asked, his gaze sweeping across the room. Heather made a disgusted sound in her throat, then turned on her heel and stalked to the front door. The sound of it slamming behind her echoed through the room as Damon busied himself with pouring drinks.


	5. One Special Moment

Heather walked, her head and her arms wrapped around her body, at a steady pace away from the Salvatore boarding house, muttering under her breath and not quite sure where she was going, taking random lefts and rights whenever she saw fit. _The further away from that house and Damon, the better I'll be. I should have never come back._ The same thoughts kept running through her mind as she made her way down the narrow dirt road, the gravel crunching under her feet with every step. When she stopped, she finally looked up and saw she was at the old wickery bridge. She sighed and leaned against the railing, looking over the water. "What in God's name possessed me to come back here?" She muttered to herself, not exactly expecting an answer.

"Because it's where we first met?" She spun around at the sound of the voice and came face to face with Jeremy. She sighed in relief and gave him a small smile before turning back to the railing. Her smile widened at the memory.

_It was a pale gray day and it just wasn't going Heather's way. She had been arguing with Caroline all day and her and Damon had just had it out for the millionth time in two hours and she felt like her head was going to explode. She just needed to get away. Elena had stopped her in the Salvatore's driveway and told her that Damon wasn't really as bad as what he seemed, he just didn't like the unfamiliar. Heather had smiled and told her she thought Damon was repulsive and she couldn't stand him, but she was glad Elena was happy with him and as long as she was happy that was all the mattered to her. Almost as an after thought as Elena was headed back up the driveway, she asked for directions to the wicker bridge. Elena had looked startled, but gave her the simplest directions she could manage. Heather had smiled, told her thank you and spun on her heel and marched off as Damon opened the front door. _

_She kept her steps measured, since it had been an exhausting day already. She wasn't really ready for the long walk, but she had to clear her head and that was what she did at home. She stepped onto the bridge, not really paying attention to where she was going, since she was looking around in awe at how pretty everything was, when she ran smack into someone and they fell to the ground, both landing with an oof. The person she had run into almost instantly jumped to their feet and offered their hand. As she rubbed her head with one hand, she reached out and took the hand with her other one and once she was on her feet, she looked up into the brown eyes of a boy she had yet to meet. _

_He was tall, with deep drown eyes and longish brown hair. He was a little pale, but still has some color to him. And he was at least a whole head taller than her. There was something haunted and distant in his eyes, but living in Mystic Falls, she supposed everyone had that look at one point in their lives, especially after putting up with Damon. For whatever reason, she couldn't bring herself to look away from his eyes. There was something about them that just pulled her in. They stared at each other for a minute, before the boy dropped her hand and took a step back._

"_Hi. My name's Jeremy Gilbert. You must be new here." He said in a husky voice. Heather's breath had instantly caught in her throat when he spoke. She stumbled over her words and felt her face flush as a smile started to creep across his face._

"_Um, yeah. I've only been here about a week. Did you say Gilbert? I assume you're related to Elena?" She had asked and watched as his face clouded over at the mentioning of the name. he turned away from her to look out over the water._

"_Yeah. She's my sister." Was all he had said. Heather had stood there awkwardly for a minute as the silence was drug out. She watched as he pulled a couple things out his pocket, one being a lighter, and watched as he inhaled, then exhaled, coughing a little bit in the process. The smell of pot hit her and she found herself smirking._

"_You know," She said, walking over to the railing and leaning against it, looking out over the water as well. "I'm pretty sure that's bad for you." He had looked at her, his eyes narrowed._

"_Are you gonna lecture me too? As if I don't get enough of that from Elena and Jenna." He said bitterly. Heather raised an eyebrow and gave him an amused look._

"_Nah. I ain't got the authority for that. Hell, I only just kicked the stuff about a month ago. Good stuff, made things fun." He raised an eyebrow as she gave him a thoughtful look. "It was making me fat though." She mused as an afterthought. She smiled when Jeremy laughed and flashed him a half smile._

"_What are you doing out here? No one really comes down to the bridge anymore." He said and she could see he was debating on another hit. She gave an exaggerated sigh and ran her fingers through her hair, noting, as she watched out of the corner of her eye, how he watched her._

"_Ohh, I just hate Damon is all." She told him. His face went hard again and she couldn't help but wonder why. "I assume you don't like Damon." She said, making it a statement, not a question. He snorted and stuck the bat and lighter back in his pocket. _

"_Not really. Everything just went down hill when he got to town. People died, people were put in danger. People changed." His voice had started out hard, but turned softer the more he spoke. _

"_People like Elena?" She had asked, her voice equally soft. He nodded, then shook his head like he was trying to keep memories away._

"_Yeah, Elena. And some other people." He paused for a minute, then looked at her. "You don't like him either, huh?" He asked. She laughed and shook her head._

"_Not liking him is a huge understatement. I think he's the most repulsive person I've ever met. I think he's slime and I just…I can't stand him. he reminds me of an ex." She responded. Jeremy laughed and bumped her with his shoulder._

"_You're not bad. I think we could get along." She looked at him and flashed him a smile, which he returned._

_Everything she did after that, Jeremy was always with her. They hung out at the bridge, the grill, in town, it didn't matter. You didn't see one without the other. The closer they got, the happier Elena seemed to be. She had pulled Heather aside at one point and told her she was glad her and Jeremy were such good friends and she just didn't have the heart to tell her they were more than that, so she just smiled and told her she was glad she could help._

"I remember that day." Heather told him, reluctantly coming back to reality. Jeremy walked up next to her and smiled. He was silent for a minute before he spoke again.

"He was gonna kill you, ya know." He said finally. Heather snorted and shook her head.

"I'm not afraid of him, Jer." She responded. Jeremy shifted and she felt him tense up a bit. She looked at him and found he was looking back at her.

"I know you're not afraid of him. But I'm afraid of losing you." He told her, sadness in his voice. Tears sprang to her eyes at the sincerity in his voice.

"Jeremy, I'm more worried about losing _you_. I hate the way he uses everyone as pawns without any regards to anyone else. I know you're a hunter, Jeremy and yes, you are a damn hot one at that, but I don't wanna lose you, Jer." She said, emotion clear in her voice. Jeremy raised an eyebrow and gave her half smile.

"Why are you so intent on keeping me alive?" He asked, slight amusement present in his voice. She sighed, closed her eyes, then opened them again.

"Because I love you, Jer. I love you and I don't wanna lose you at the hands of Damon Salvatore." Jeremy's eyebrows shot up, his eyes wide. She could tell he clearly wasn't expecting that.

"I love you too." He said. This time, Heather was the one thrown off guard. She wasn't expecting that either. They stared at each other, smiles slowly creeping over their faces. They stood there awkwardly, until Heather had had enough and pulled him into a hug, their lips meeting on impact.


End file.
